Burning Glass Technologies Skills of Mass Disruption...Future-ready teams create future-ready solutions. + Employers have to pay more to hire workers with these skill areas. The average

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Burning Glass Technologies

© Burning Glass Technologies 2020

Skills of Mass Disruption:

December 2020

Pinpointing the 10 Most Disruptive Skills in Tech

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Burning Glass Technologies Skills of Mass Disruption




3© Burning Glass Technologies 2020

1. Introduction and Executive Summary pg 4

2. Methodology pg 8

3. Key Findings pg 12

4. Implications and Recommendations pg 20

5. Appendix pg 24

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

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Authors By Will Markow and Rachel Sederberg


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1.

Introduction and Executive Summary


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© Burning Glass Technologies 2020 5

Introduction and Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Across the literature on technology and the

future of work, buzzwords abound. There is

no shortage of reports discussing new and

disruptive technologies that are years from

being commercially viable, or rankings of the

top skills in a small, nascent domain.

However, this prevalence of hype often gives

way to a dearth of detail. Organizations

and technology executives know they

must adopt new technologies to remain

competitive, and they know this requires

their workforce to constantly evolve

and adopt the emerging skills needed to

keep pace with changes in their industry.

There is minimal guidance, however, on

how to spot the emerging skills that will

have the most disruptive impact on an

organization’s workforce. Nor is there much

discussion devoted to the concrete steps

an organization can take to adopt emerging

skills within their teams. This leaves many

organizations grasping in the dark as they

try to build a future-ready workforce.

To help organizations move past the

buzzwords and pinpoint the disruptive

technology skills they can begin building

today, Burning Glass Technologies analyzed

more than 17,000 unique skills demanded

across our database of over one billion

historical job listings. The analysis grouped

similar technology skills into associated

skill areas and assessed both the projected

growth of each skill area over the next five

years, as well as each skill area’s hardness

to fill – a composite measure of the average

time it takes to fill jobs requesting each skill

and the average cost premium to fill each

skill. Disruptive skill clusters can be defined

as those that are projected to grow rapidly,

are undersupplied, and provide high value.

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The results identified the following 10 most disruptive skill areas in tech:

Figure 1: The 10 Most Disruptive Skill Areas in Tech

Connected Technologies







Software Development Methodologies


Disruptive Tech Skills

AI and Machine Learning

Cloud Technologies


Quantum Computing

Fintech

IT Automation

Natural Language Processing

Parallel Computing

Proactive Security

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Key Findings:

+ Many disruptive tech skills are already in demand and growing fast. In the past 12 months, there were 1,714,483 U.S. job openings requesting at least one of the disruptive skill

areas. Over the next five years, they are projected to grow between 17% and 135%. The skill areas

projected to grow the fastest include Quantum Computing and Connected Technologies, with

forecasted growth rates of 135% and 104%, respectively.

+ These skill areas are spreading across many different occupations and industries. Eight of the 10 skill areas are already commonly requested in over 30% of occupations. None of

the skill areas except Quantum Computing have more than 40% of demand concentrated within

one industry. This diffusion of skills across different jobs and industries is hybridizing many roles

and teams, requiring employers to be thoughtful in determining which roles are best-suited for

embedding these skills.

+ Organizations with future-ready skills create future-ready solutions. The most disruptive organizations are more likely to request the disruptive tech skills. Across all IT and R&D

occupations, Unicorn employers – i.e., startups valued at $1 billion or more –are 33% more likely to

request disruptive tech skills than legacy firms in the Fortune 100. This underscores a key maxim:

Future-ready teams create future-ready solutions.

+ Employers have to pay more to hire workers with these skill areas. The average salary premiums for the disruptive skills areas range between $4,200 to $25,000. The two skill areas with

the greatest average salary premiums – IT Automation and AI and Machine Learning – are both

focused on automating existing tasks to become more efficient. This means many employers face

a Catch-22: They need disruptive skills to remain future-ready and gain efficiencies, but they may

not be able to afford hiring individuals from a limited pool of existing workers with these skills.

+ But employers have realistic options for upskilling current workers to meet the need. By identifying existing employees in “adjacent roles” that have similar skill sets, employers may

be able to strategically reskill and upskill to meet the need at less cost. For all but two of these

skill areas, there are at least 200 occupations that represent strong candidates for upskilling. The

two remaining skill areas, Parallel Computing and Quantum Computing, are both highly technical

fields, but there are still numerous adjacent roles that can be upskilled for each.

Executive Summary


Burning Glass Technologies Methodology

2.

Methodology


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In order to identify the most disruptive

skills in tech, we analyzed over 17,000

unique skills demanded across Burning

Glass’s database of over one billion

historical job listings. We grouped similar

technology skills into related skill areas

and assessed both the projected growth of

each skill area over the next five years as

well as each skill area’s hardness to fill — a

composite measure of the average time it

takes to fill jobs requesting each skill, as

well as the average cost premium to fill each

skill. This allowed us to plot skills within

Burning Glass’s disruptive skills matrix —

a methodology previously developed for

Quant Crunch: How the Demand for Data

Science Skills is Disrupting the Job Market,

a joint report with IBM and the Business-

Higher Education Forum.

Methodology

The disruptive skills matrix classifies skills

within one of the following four quadrants:

+ Stabilizers are skills with low projected

growth and low hardness to fill. These

skills are typically plentiful across the

market but may still be important to

key roles.

+ Escalators are skills with high projected

growth but low hardness to fill. These

are high-growth skills that are important

to building a future-ready workforce

but are typically common across the job

market.

+ Challengers are skills with low projected

growth and high hardness to fill. These

are skills associated with established

fields that provide strong value, but

there is a limited pool of talent.

+ Disruptors are skills with high projected

growth and high hardness to fill. These

are high-value skills that help firms

differentiate their workforce and become

future-ready – but are also the hardest

for employers to find in the job market.

This report focuses exclusively on tech skills

falling in the Disruptors category, as shown

in Figure 2.

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DisruptorsFintech



Proactive Security

Software Dev Methodologies

Parallel ComputingNLP

Quantum Computing

IT AutomationCloud Technologies

Figure 1: Disruptive Skills Matrix

ChallengersStabilizers

Escalators

Proj

ecte

d G

row

th

Hardness to Fill

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To narrow the list down to the top 10

most disruptive skill areas in tech, we then

ranked each skill in the Disruptors category

by summing their normalized projected

growth, average salary premiums, and

average time to fill. The 10 skills with the

highest aggregate scores were selected as

the 10 most disruptive skills in tech. These

skills include the following:

+ AI and Machine Learning: Skills related

to developing and utilizing programs,

tools, and solutions powered by

algorithms and other technologies that

automatically respond and improve

based upon prior experience or data.

+ Cloud Technologies: Skills related to

developing, implementing, and securing

cloud computing infrastructure and

strategy.

+ Connected Technologies: Skills

related to the Internet of Things and

connected physical tools, as well as

the telecommunications infrastructure

needed to enable them, such as 5G.

+ Fintech: Skills related to technologies

such as blockchain and others aimed

at making financial transactions more

efficient and secure.

+ IT Automation: Skills related to

automating and orchestrating digital

processes and workflows.

+ Natural Language Processing (NLP):

Skills related to developing solutions

and technologies build upon machine-

enabled processing of natural language.

+ Parallel Computing: Skills related to

a form of computation where many

calculations, or the execution of

computational processes, are carried out

simultaneously.

+ Proactive Security: Skills related to

proactively securing and protecting

digital infrastructure from cybercriminals

and preventing cyberattacks before they

occur.

+ Quantum Computing: Skills related

to building and utilizing quantum

computers and their applications.

+ Software Development

Methodologies: Skills related to Agile,

DevOps, and related approaches to

developing software more rapidly,

effectively, and securely.

Methodology

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3.

Key Findings

Burning Glass Technologies Key Findings


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Software Dev Methodologies 634,660 35%

Cloud Technologies 462,963 28%

Proactive Security 373,123 39%

IT Automation 282,380 59%

AI and Machine Learning 197,810 71%

Connected Technologies 68,313 104%

NLP 36,941 41%

Fintech 35,667 96%

Parallel Computing 11,056 17%

Quantum Computing 2,718 135%

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Key Findings

Many disruptive tech skills are already in demand and growing fast

In the past 12 months (December 2019-November 2020) there were 1,714,483 job postings

requesting at least one of the disruptive skill areas. This already represents sizable demand

throughout the market, and this level of sustained employer need is especially impressive

given the market-wide decline in postings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But these skills are

still maturing and are poised to continue growing at a rapid pace. Over the next five years,

each skill is projected to grow at least 17%, and some are projected to grow considerably

faster. The skill areas projected to grow the fastest include Quantum Computing and

Connected Technologies, with forecasted growth rates of 135% and 104%, respectively.

Table 1: Job Openings and Growth by Disruptive Skill Area

Skill Area Total Job Openings (Last 12 Months)

Projected 5-Year Demand Growth

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Proactive Security 64% 57%

Cloud Technologies 58% 55%

Software Dev Methodologies 57% 53%

AI and Machine Learning 56% 37%

Connected Technologies 41% 25%

NLP 35% 27%

IT Automation 34% 16%

Fintech 33% 13%

Parallel Computing 10% 12%

Quantum Computing 4% 1%


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These skill areas are spreading across occupations and industries

The disruptive skill areas are not just clustered in a handful of roles: Most of these skill areas

are spreading to many different corners of the job market, both in tech and beyond. Since

2015, most of the skill areas have seen strong growth in the number of roles in which they are

frequently requested. This is creating hybridized roles that combine emerging skills with more

traditional skill sets. Most of these skill areas are already commonly requested in at least 30%

of all occupations, although some highly technical skills — such as Parallel Computing and

Quantum Computing — are more heavily concentrated in a handful of specific roles. Nonetheless,

this diffusion of skills across different jobs is hybridizing many roles, requiring employers to be

thoughtful in determining which positions are best-suited for developing these skills, and to

what level of proficiency in each skill area employees across different roles should strive.

Table 2: Share of All Occupations Commonly Requesting Disruptive Skill Areas

Skill Area Share of Occupations Commonly Requesting Skill Area: (Dec. 2019-Nov. 2020)

Share of Occupations Commonly Requesting

Skill Area: 2015

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Key Findings

Similarly, these skill areas are spread across a range of industries. With the exception of

Quantum Computing, which is heavily concentrated in the professional services sector, none

of the disruptive skill areas have more than 40% of total demand concentrated within one

industry. Some of the disruptive skill areas that are most dispersed across sectors include AI

and Machine Learning, Cloud Technologies, Parallel Computing, and Proactive Security. Just

as the spread of these skills across occupations is creating hybrid jobs, the spread of these

skills across industries is also creating hybrid teams. This requires organizations in all sectors

to adopt these skills within their organization to remain future-ready.

Figure 3: Demand for Disruptive Tech Skills by Industry Sector

AI a

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achi

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Lear

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Clou

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chno

logi

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Conn

ecte

d Te

chno

logi

es

Fint

ech

IT A

utom

atio

n

NLP

Para

llel

Com

putin

g

Proa

ctiv

e Se

curi

ty

Qua

ntum

Co

mpu

ting

Soft

war

e D

ev

Met

hodo

logi

es

Professional Services

Finance and Insurance

Information / IT

Manufacturing

Retail Trade

Adminstrative Services

Educational Services

Health Care and Social Assistance

Public Administration

Transportation and Warehousing

Other Industries

31% 29% 40% 32% 28% 22% 28% 76% 31%25%

14% 4% 30% 18% 22% 5% 24% 3% 20%17%

19% 26% 11% 17% 14% 10% 7% 6% 12%13%

8% 14% 3% 11% 7% 26% 11% 2% 12%15%

7% 6% 3% 4% 7% 10% 3% 2% 5%8%

6% 3% 6% 6% 4% 3% 5% 0% 5%3%

2% 1% 1% 2% 5% 7% 3% 8% 1%5%

3% 11% 1% 2% 4% 3% 4% 0% 3%5%

3% 1% 2% 3% 3% 2% 8% 1% 3%3%

2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 0% 2%2%

6% 4% 2% 4% 6% 10% 5% 1% 5%4%

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Fortune 10

Unicorns

Figure 5: Share of Openings Requesting at Least One Disruptive Tech Skill

30%

40%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Organizations with future-ready skills create future-ready solutions

The most disruptive organizations are more likely to request the disruptive tech skills. Within

one of the most rarified classes of disruptors, Unicorns valued at $1 billion or more, demand

for these skills within tech and R&D jobs is surging compared to their legacy counterparts. The

share of tech and R&D job openings requesting at least one of these skills at Unicorns is 40%,

compared to only 30% of tech and R&D jobs at Fortune 100 firms. Stated another way, Unicorns

are 33% more likely to request disruptive tech skills than legacy firms in the Fortune 100. This

underscores a key maxim: Organizations with future-ready skills build future-ready solutions.

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Employers have to pay more to hire workers with these skill areas

Disruptive skills are disruptive for a reason: They are high value and not everyone has them. Not

surprisingly, this puts significant upward pressure on salaries. On average, the disruptive skill areas

come with salary premiums ranging between $4,200 and $25,000. The two skill areas with the

greatest average salary premiums – IT Automation and AI and Machine Learning – are both focused

on automating existing tasks to make them more efficient. This means many employers face a

Catch-22: They need disruptive skills to remain future-ready and gain efficiencies, but they may

not be able to afford hiring individuals from a limited pool of existing workers with these skills.

Table 3: Average Salary Premium by Disruptive Skill Area

Skill Area Average Salary Premium

IT Automation $24,969

AI and Machine Learning $14,175

Fintech $13,799

Software Dev Methodologies $13,762

Connected Technologies $10,873

Cloud Technologies $10,588

Proactive Security $8,851

Parallel Computing $7,797

NLP $6,368

Quantum Computing $4,204

Key Findings

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Proactive Security 598

Software Dev Methodologies 544

Cloud Technologies 524

AI and Machine Learning 512

Connected Technologies 313

Fintech 311

IT Automation 282

NLP 226

Parallel Computing 67

Quantum Computing 10

But employers have realistic options for upskilling current workers to meet the need

To combat the increased cost and difficulty of filling positions with the disruptive skill areas,

employers can build these skills within their workforce more efficiently by strategically

reskilling and upskilling existing employees who already perform work using similar skills. For

all but two of these skills, there are at least 200 occupations that represent strong candidates

for upskilling in these fields, as determined by analyzing roles in which each skill can both

align with existing responsibilities and typically comes with a significant salary premium.

The two remaining skill areas, Parallel Computing and Quantum Computing, are both highly

technical fields, but there are still numerous roles that can be upskilled in each skill area.

Organizations can, therefore, more rapidly and effectively integrate these disruptive skills

into their teams by upskilling existing employees, rather than relying solely on new hires to fill

gaps in their capabilities.

Table 4: Upskilling Opportunities by Disruptive Skill Area

Skill Area Number of Occupations Representing Strong Upskilling Candidates*

*Includes occupations in which a skill area is commonly requested and has an average salary premium of at least 5%.

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Burning Glass Technologies Implications and Recommendations

4.

Implications and Recommendations


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Employers

+ Make Developing Disruptive Skills a

Priority, Based Upon Your Strategic

Goals. Teams with future-ready skills

build future-ready solutions. Therefore,

it is imperative for organizations to

determine which disruptive skills are

most important for them to integrate

into their teams to support their current

and future strategic priorities. Firms can

also take inspiration from disruptive

newcomers – such as Unicorns – to

understand how these skills can help

them build next-generation solutions.

+ Break Down Silos to Build a

Future-Ready Workforce. Many

roles are hybridizing and demand

emerging tech skills, even when on

non-technical teams. This requires

leaders across teams to collaborate on

developing a workforce with the skills

needed to thrive. Since tech is often the

driver of workforce hybridization, the

IT and HR departments make natural

bedfellows in many strategic workforce

planning endeavors.

+ Invest in Your Workers with Targeted

Upskilling. Hiring workers who already

have disruptive skills is costly and can

take a long time. Upskilling and reskilling

workers in adjacent roles can reduce

the cost and time it takes to build a

future-ready team, while also supporting

employee retention and advancement.

Students and Job Seekers

+ Identify and Learn High-Value

Disruptive Skills. The disruptive tech

skills are growing rapidly and can lead to

significant salary boosts. Individuals who

identify and develop these future-ready

skills – and continuously update their

skill sets as new needs emerge – will be

best-positioned to enhance their career

prospects, both in tech and beyond.

Training Providers

+ Incorporate Disruptive Skills into

Existing Programs. The job market

is changing much faster than most

curricula. Students who graduate with

future-ready skills are best positioned

to thrive in the job market, and training

providers can ensure they leave school

with these skills by incorporating

them into existing programs. This

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Technology Vendors

+ Build a Community of Disruptors.

To build a large user base for a

disruptive solution, you need to educate

workers in the skills needed to use it.

Communicating the value of learning

these disruptive skills to students and

workers – while also providing the

resources needed to help them build

these skills – can dramatically expand

your pool of potential users.

includes both tech programs and other

disciplines, where workers in non-

technical fields can benefit by building a

hybrid skill set combining emerging tech

skills and other competencies.

+ Build Short-Term Programs to Teach

Disruptive Skills to Working Learners.

Many existing workers will be looking to

continuously upskill in emerging fields.

Training providers can support them by

building short-term training programs

specifically tailored to workers and

individuals looking to enhance their

abilities in new fields in order to improve

their employment prospects.

+ Communicate the Value of Disruptive

Skills. The disruptive tech skills can

be highly lucrative for individuals who

possess them. Training providers can

motivate students to learn these skills

by communicating the value they confer,

in terms of both increased salaries and

increased employment opportunities.

This will also encourage students to

enter and remain within programs

dedicated to teaching these emerging,

high-value skills.

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6.

Appendix: Skill Drill Downs


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Posting Count

+ Data Scientist + Software Developer / Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + Data Engineer + Senior Data Scientist

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Manufacturing + Information + Retail Trade

Top Industries

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Data Analyst (General) + Network Engineer / Architect + Research Associate + Systems Engineer

Sample Reskilling Target Roles:

Five Year Growth

Skill Premium



71%

197,810

$14,175

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + Systems Engineer + Devops Engineer + Cloud Architect

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Information + Finance and Insurance + Manufacturing + Retail Trade

Top Industries

+ Systems Administrator + Software as a Service (SaaS) Account Executive

+ Technical Support Engineer / Analyst

+ Application Support Engineer / Analyst

+ Computer Support Specialist


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Cloud Technologies

Cloud Technologies

28%

462,963

$10,588

Appendix

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + Satellite Technician + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Systems Engineer

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Information + Manufacturing + Retail Trade + Finance and Insurance

Top Industries

+ Satellite Technician + General Engineering Technician / Technologist

+ Senior Data Scientist + Repair / Service Technician + Software Architect


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium



104%

68,313

$10,873

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Network Engineer / Architect + Technical Consultant / Analyst + User Experience (UX) Designer

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Information + Administrative Services + Manufacturing

Top Industries

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Customer Service Representative (General)

+ Systems Engineer


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Fintech

Fintech

96%

35,667

$13,799

Appendix

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Devops Engineer + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Systems Engineer + Java Developer / Engineer

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Information + Manufacturing + Administrative Services

Top Industries

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Technical Support Engineer / Analyst

+ Engineering Manager (General) + General Engineering Technician / Technologist

+ Application Support Engineer / Analyst


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

IT Automation

IT Automation

59%

282,380

$24,969

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Posting Count

+ Data Scientist + Software Developer / Engineer + Senior Data Scientist + Network Engineer / Architect + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Information + Retail Trade + Manufacturing

Top Industries

+ Senior Data Scientist + Research Associate + Computer Scientist / Researcher + Security / Defense Intelligence Analyst

+ Cyber Security Consultant


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural Language Processing

(NLP)

41%

36,941

$6,368

Appendix

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Data Engineer + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Data Architect + Network Engineer / Architect

Top Occupations

+ Manufacturing + Professional Services + Retail Trade + Information + Educational Services

Top Industries

+ Systems Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + General Engineering Technician / Technologist

+ Application Developer / Engineer + Performance Engineer


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Parallel Computing

ParallelComputing

17%

11,056

$7,797

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Appendix

Posting Count

+ Cyber Security Engineer + Cyber Security Analyst + Software Developer / Engineer + Network Engineer / Architect + Cyber Security Manager / Administrator

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Manufacturing + Public Administration + Information

Top Industries

+ Cyber Security Consultant + Technical Support Engineer / Analyst

+ Cyber Security Specialist / Technician

+ Network Engineer / Architect + Application Support Engineer / Analyst


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Proactive Security

ProactiveSecurity

39%

373,123

$8,851

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Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Research Associate + Senior Data Scientist + Network Engineer / Architect + Data Scientist

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Educational Services + Information + Finance and Insurance + Retail Trade

Top Industries

+ Research Associate + Research Scientist + Computer Scientist / Researcher + Research & Development Engineer + Systems Analyst


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Quantum Computing

QuantumComputing

135%

2,718

$4,204

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Appendix

Posting Count

+ Software Developer / Engineer + Devops Engineer + Senior Software Developer / Engineer

+ Technical Manager / Director + Systems Engineer

Top Occupations

+ Professional Services + Finance and Insurance + Manufacturing + Information + Retail Trade

Top Industries

+ Computer Support Specialist + .NET Developer / Engineer + Application Support Engineer / Analyst

+ Project Manager (General) + Repair / Service Technician


Five Year Growth

Skill Premium

Software Development Methodologies

Software Development

Methodologies

35%

634,660

$13,762

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Burning Glass Technologies66 Long Wharf | Floor 2

Boston, MA 02110

+1 (617) 227-4800

www.burning-glass.com

Burning Glass Technologies delivers job market analytics that empower employers, workers, and educators to make data-driven decisions. The company’s artificial intelligence technology analyzes hundreds of millions of job postings and real-life career transitions to provide insight into labor market patterns. This real-time strategic intelligence offers crucial insights, such as which jobs are most in demand, the specific skills employers need, and the career directions that offer the highest potential for workers. For more information, visit burning-glass.com.

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Burning Glass Technologies Skills of Mass Disruption...Future-ready teams create future-ready solutions. + Employers have to pay more to hire workers with these skill areas. The average